Imagine being on a team and having the strength to carry and throw your teammates in the air, flexibility for jumping, gymnastics skills for tumbling, and dancing skills, stamina for a full 2 minute routine, but still not being considered an athlete.  This is the case with most cheerleaders.  

A lot of schools, like New Providence High School, offer both sideline and competitive cheer. Sideline cheerleading encourages the team and keeps the audience energized while the game is going on. General cheers, offense cheers, and defense cheers are all used on the sidelines as well as band dances and the halftime routine. 

Competitive cheer on the other hand requires a more developed skill set from all cheerleaders on the team. Judges will score and critique the routine based on many categories, including jumps, dance, tumble, pyramids (a form of stunting in which all groups are connected in the air), timing, and overall routine composition. A lot more goes into cheerleading and creating a competitive routine than people would think. 

The level of cheerleading at schools varies between districts and different states which is why some schools would consider cheerleading a sport while others would not. 

Regardless of the level, cheerleading should be considered a sport  because cheerleaders endure the same level of training, athleticism, competitiveness, and many other aspects as other sports. 

At NPHS, cheerleading begins pre-season in August and all cheerleaders undergo rigorous training and conditioning in preparation for the fall season. Training during preseason consists of conditioning to build a strong core, increase flexibility, and build up overall strength in the body for all stunting positions.  Cheerleading, like many other sports, requires a lot of physical exertion, dedication, and teamwork along with a variety of wide range skills involving stunting, tumbling, dancing, and of course, cheering. 

Competitive cheerleading can be done at any age in primary school, high school, and at the college or all-star level, which is much more extreme. Cheerleading teams at any level compete in different divisions and the best qualify for States and Nationals.  The NCAA states that for an activity to be considered a sport, there must be some other party to compete against. Cheerleading is as competitive, if not more, than many other sports, so why is it not considered a sport by the NCAA? 

Thankfully, NPHS began considering cheerleading a sport by allowing cheerleaders on the team to apply for a sports study throughout the season in exchange for participating in physical education class in 2018, an opportunity every sport other than cheerleading had. 

As a freshman I could see the excitement from the older cheerleaders when the email was sent out that  showed how for the first time, cheerleading was seen as equivalent to other sports at NPHS. 

Over the past few years, the NPHS cheerleading program has made various efforts to change the stigma around cheerleading being overlooked in the sports community. In 2018, the varsity cheerleading team competed at States for the first time and took 2nd place in their division. In 2019, the varsity cheerleading team took home a total of 9 out of 13 awards at the Cheer for Charity competition in various divisions and categories between both the JV and Varsity teams. The 2019 competition season ended with the JV team competing at States for the first time, and varsity making history by winning 1st place at States. The 2020 competition season consisted of various wins for the varsity and JV teams like previous seasons and 2nd place at States. 

Although the 2021 cheerleading season began with restrictions because of the pandemic, our cheerleading team was grateful enough to even have a season in the fall. As the 2021 competition season begins, both JV and Varsity teams are in preparation for many competitions and hopefully another States Championship in the future, as well as continuing to perform at our best and prove why cheerleading should be considered a sport.